We live in a nation of bystanders

By Philip Martin

Posted: July 23, 2017 at 1:53 a.m.

If you are choking, you have a better chance of being helped if one person notices than if five do. They call this the "bystander effect." If you believe you are the only person who can help, then you're probably going to try to help. But if you are among a crowd of observers, you might wait to see if someone else steps up.